Removal of the bridge deck in preparation for implosion ...

Construction crews have been working on removing the steel grate deck from the Black Hawk Bridge since its permanent closure October 20. As evident in the photo above, sparks fly as a cutting torch and steel-cutting saw are used to cut out pieces of the grated deck that are supported by the long arm of the telehandler machine also pictured in that photo and then lifted up off the deck once cut free and taken away for disposal. Left behind are the gaping holes pictured in the bridge deck in the photo below between the supporting beams and remaining steel structure of the Black Hawk Bridge. Also evident is the removal of the steel railing that ran along each side of the bridge but has been removed in areas where the bridge deck has already been cut away. Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) District Engineer Clayton Burke, project manager for the Mississippi River bridge replacement project at Lansing, says this part of the project is in an effort to weaken and lighten the old bridge structure for greater ease and safety when it comes to imploding the bridge. “The removal of the deck and some of the steel beams underneath will lighten the bridge and weaken it so that when they put the explosive charges on the bridge, it will drop into the river,” Burke had previously noted. With this process expected to take several weeks, Burke said the implosion of the remainder of the Black Hawk Bridge is being planned for sometime in December, with DOT officials assuring that they will provide plenty of notice before that implosion process takes place. Photos by Robert Raymond and Julie-Berg Raymond.